Nikon D800: Sony sensors hit again

We leanred a little more about the Nikon D800 when NR revealed the first pictures of the futur new pro Full Frame Digital SLR from Nikon.

The most impressive item recorded will certainly be the arrival of a new FX-FF digital sensor of 36 mega-pixels. You read it well: Nikon will hold the record of the largest number of pixels in a D-SLR camera. And I need to make two remarks.

First, some who thought that Nikon would follow the path drawn by the Nikon D700 with its large sensor with a (relatively) small resolution of only 12 mega-pixels. With the Nikon D800, out goes this strategy which allowed hope of a record sensitivity paid only by the price of a resolution only sufficient. Nikon gave it to the calls of consumer marketing sirens: Always more!

Even if we can hope that the quality will be here (and most probably, it will be sufficient), many were those who hoped to see Nikon keep a photographer’s strategy and who will be disappointed to see the strong progress of the electronic gadget strategy.

As a matter of fact, the electronic gadget manufacturer is nearly certainly Sony. As is usual, Sony and Nikon cooperated to design, create and manufacture this exceptional digital sensor: Derived from the same technology recently disclosed on the most recent Sony cameras (Alpha 65, Alpha 77, and Nex-7), it goes from APS-C to Full frame size going from 24 to 36 mega-pixels.

Features

• 36-megapixel digital sensor
• 51-point AF system
• 1080p video recording with 30/25/24 frames/s and 720p with 60/30/25/24 frames/s
• Double memory cards: SD & CF
• USB 3.0 support
• Smaller and lighter than the original Nikon D700

No price and no availability date disclosed today for the Nikon D800. But The Verge had already suggested a launch on November 24th for ¥300,000 (or US$3,900).